Couple Opens Doors for Next Generation

Mark D. ’73 and Janet S. Hassakis Fund a Scholarship With Blended Gifts, Including a Bequest in Their Estate

Although Mark D. Hassakis ’73 has met recent graduate Alex Ortiz ’19 only a handful of times, the two share a special connection. Along with his wife, Janet, Mark established a scholarship fund at Northwestern University, and Ortiz is its third recipient. Through a bequest in their estate, the couple will continue to support their scholarship beyond their lifetimes.

Mark and Janet found inspiration for their scholarship in Mark’s early experiences at Northwestern. “I grew up in rural Illinois, and I was shockingly unprepared for my freshman year,” he says. “My high school did not offer calculus or advanced-level writing courses, and I found the academic expectations to be very challenging.”

Mark went on to thrive at Northwestern, earning a degree in history and developing relationships with several of his professors—including historians Clarence Ver Steeg and William Heyck, and sociologist Charles Moskos. He recalls Moskos asking him to meet after his first day of class and his relief at finding out that the professor simply wanted his input on a new course he was developing on Greek culture in America. Mark, whose grandparents were Greek immigrants, is proud of his role in bringing this long-running course to Northwestern. “Many of the Greek American alumni I meet took Dr. Moskos’s course,” says Mark. “It is really cool to have been a part of that.”

Now an attorney in Illinois, Mark has chosen to give back to a variety of programs at Northwestern. In 2011, he and his wife—a University of Kentucky Wildcat—established the Mark D. and Janet S. Hassakis Scholarship Fund, which is awarded largely to students who have come from rural, public high schools, further diversifying the University’s undergraduate population.

The couple funded their scholarship through blended giving—a combination of outright and deferred gifts. They created the fund with an outright gift, allowing them to experience the “excitement and joy” of their generosity in action. Mark and Janet also chose to include a bequest in their estate plan that will serve to enhance the fund after their lifetimes. Bequests—most often made through a will or trust—allow donors to make a significant impact at Northwestern, while retaining control of certain assets while they are alive. “We had always planned to support Northwestern in our wills,” Mark says. “Northwestern made it easy to document our gift and showed us how much it was appreciated.”

The Hassakises have met several of their scholarship recipients, including Ortiz, whose focus and dedication made an impression on them. “Our scholarship may have helped open a door for Alex,” Mark says, “but Alex took that open door and walked right through it, and is on his way to a great career.”

You, too, can pave the way for current and future students at Northwestern. Contact Northwestern Gift Planning at 800-826-6709 or giftplanning@northwestern.edu to learn how.